Is the gender gap a myth or still a reality? Women in business, public life and... army

Back in time, when the sky above Ukraine was peaceful and news feeds showed photos from parks  and educational events, ACCA Ukraine launched a project – we asked ourselves the question if  the much-speculated glass ceiling really exists. To what extent do women in finance experience  gender restrictions in Ukraine and the EU? Is discrimination a case-by-case issue or a systemic  problem affecting all industry players? 50% of ACCA members are women. Does the problem that  has been talked about for years take place in the current realities of European countries?

38 participants from Ukraine, Poland,  and the Baltic states were involved in the project. We asked several dozen easy and somewhat uneasy questions to our  respondents. The audience of the survey mainly included senior professionals who are members of ACCA.

QUOTES FROM THE SPEAKERS:

Do you think that the "glass ceiling" is a reality in Ukraine or it’s just a topic for provocative posts on social networks?

In my opinion, it is more of a topic for posts on social networks than in reality. However, it should be noted that a key factor for the "glass ceiling" is location  in large Ukrainian cities it’s subtle, while in small towns and villages it can be significant – Yulia Ponomarenko, FCCA, Otis EMEA, Senior Manager FP&A, Service BP.

How do you feel about gender-specific language, do you use it when speaking/in correspondence?

I like it. I believe it sounds natural in Ukrainian and brings our language closer to other Eastern European languages. On the contrary, in Russian, I think, such forms don’t really entrench. But it's still difficult for me to change – I can sometimes forget to use feminine forms – Olha Znachkova, a specialist who built a career in the banking industry, partner of the IFRS Solution project.

Focusing on big business, how friendly is the professional environment for employees with children?

In my view, the professional environment has become friendlier for employees with children than it was 10 years ago. I think a lot still depends on the corporate culture, company policy and management, and of course, support from family. Today we can see more examples of creating Parent's clubs, discussions on raising children, creating kind of in-company kindergartens, and so on. I give an example of both my employer and our customers, large businesses. Our company provides the most comfortable conditions possible since everyone shows understanding. For example, you can have an individual work schedule or a certain number of hours per week, depending on the situation at home. At the same time, I have friends who just got married and were denied a job, because the company was afraid that they would immediately go on maternity leave – Anush Yegizaryan, Audit Director at Deloitte Ukraine.

In your opinion, how does upbringing influence girls’ future life, personal and professional development? What changes would you make?

Girls should be given the right to choose and try whatever they want, they shouldn't be discriminated – like they often say “ballet is only for girls and martial arts are not”, they shouldn't be raised to be submissive – Gedmina Rumšienė, FCCA, Group Financial Controller at TransferGo.

Do you think we can divide the competition into purely male or purely female?

I work in a profession that is often perceived as exclusively masculine. I am a member of the asset management team of an investment company. Although a lot of men in this profession consider it to be a man's job, I feel great due to the work environment created by my colleagues. There are many other examples of women in even more male-dominated professions, but I strongly believe that any woman can do what she wants – Joanna Alasa, Senior Analyst at NN Investment Partners Polska, ACCA member.

What is feminism for you?

For me, feminism means believing in the social, economic, and political equality of the genders. It is a matter of organized and individual protection of women’s rights and interests – Małgorzata Figaszewska, director of Global Finance Shared Service at Franklin Templeton, member of ACCA.

Based on the information above, the gender issue in career growth and the glass ceiling occurs, but they are not something regular in the financial industry of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. But what if all the data gathered is a survivor bias?

ACCA Ukraine made a sample among leading experts but can their opinion be indicative if we want to get average data for the industry? Finance is a modern field with high European standards, where norms, rules, and ethics were brought by head offices from tier-1 countries. To what extent does the experience  of people who worked in the Big Four help us assess problems on a national scale?

To answer this question, we referred to facts that describe the everyday life and realities of Ukrainian women who are currently serving in the Armed Forces. The army is traditionally a male community, where women’s presence has not yet become something common. Objectively, when it comes to gender equality in the army, Ukraine is much inferior to Israel.

Statistics show that Ukraine has one of the highest numbers of women in the Armed Forces among NATO member countries – says Hanna Malyar, Deputy Minister of Defense.

Since February 24, I have been trying to join territorial defense in two regions — Zakarpattia and Dnipropetrovsk. And got refused constantly. Same with the military enlistment – I got enlisted only in reserve. I graduated from a near-military university, went through training with the boys, a Candidate for Master of Sports in freestyle wrestling, and have an aikido belt. I’m also a mother of a two-year-old child. But my parents are retired, so they can look after her. It is because of the child that I get refusals. My friend from Kyiv was turned down too, even though she has no children – Andrianna Lytvynyuk wrote in the FeminismUA community.

The possible interpretations for such a scenario vary, but one thing is clear: there are a lot of women who are highly motivated to join the army and defend Ukraine. And a lot of women are already doing it.

Currently, the Armed Forces number more than 50,000 servicewomen, of which about 5,000 are serving on the frontline. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, 7,000 women have joined the army. Back in October 2021, the Armed Forces had 31,000 servicewomen. Now there are 38,000 of them, and another 12,000 are civilian women  who have joined the Ukrainian army.

Once, my companion from the unit, with whom we went a reconnaissance mission together, said that a woman doesn’t really fit in the army. Paperwork at the headquarters is the most we can do. I asked how I was different from him on the missions. What am I not doing that everyone else is doing? Whether I can't carry gear the same distance? He thought for a while and said that I do everything as well as everyone. The dialogue was closed, says a marine Yaryna Chornoguz.

Women in the Ukrainian army are the reality of 2022. They are respected, they are not inferior to men, and there is no publicly available information (or non-public statements) indicating that women in the army are less effective. Nonetheless, we see many obstacles at the level of military enlistment points and in the perception of people not related to the army.

To assess the situation, we should take a developed country as an example and turn to the most basic matter – wages level. We chose a country where the equality issue has been relevant for the past 70 years – the United States.

Back in 2018, it turned out that the difference between the average annual income of a man and a woman is about $7 thousand. This was found out by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, an American research organization that studies women’s status in the United States, together with the Women's Foundation of Colorado. At the time of research, $7 thousand was enough to pay for 1.9 years of study at one of the community colleges (the first level in the US higher education system, which allows you to continue studying at the university from the third year — Plus-one.ru). On average, women aged 16 and over earned $43,000 per year. At the same time, for every $1 earned by a man, there is $0.86 earned by a woman. Since 2015, the difference has decreased by $0.04. Overall, in 2018 62.5% of women in Colorado were employed compared to 73.1% of men. The percentage of Colorado women living in poverty increased from 13% in 2015 to 14.3% in 2018.

Women financiers live in a dimension that is a far cry from the realities of Ukrainian society. However, one can’t fail to notice how fast Ukrainian society is developing. We expect that in Ukraine, a country of winners, the issue of gender inequality will eventually become a thing of the past, while career, income, and opportunities will depend only on one’s effort, will and patience. Looking at the last 5 months, we can say that Ukrainian people – both men and women –have all of the qualities above in abundance.

Author: Victoria Volotovska, Business Relationship Manager for ACCA Poland, Ukraine and Baltic countries

This article comes from magazine:
FOCUS ON Business #7 November-December (6/2022)